Strawberries, an angel, a dragonfly and a bee that might be a wasp

After not having any homegrown strawberries so far this year, and pretty much giving up on them, the recent heavy rainfall along with lots of sunshine has had berries ripening like crazy. I've been starting every day with fresh fruit for breakfast, which is a lovely treat.

This last week's been oddly enjoyable. The house is looking much better after it's ever-so-late-spring-clean, and hopefully I can keep it this way. Out in the garden everything's windswept and there're lots of plants leaning drunkenly over, me neglecting to stake them.

I made a couple of little changes to the angel fabric collage, not having been entirely satisfied with her face.

I outlined the eyes with thread and added a faint indication of a nose! This textile piece ended up being about 21 x 23cm, and it occurred to me that I might make a smaller version and use it to decorate a Christmas card. (Sorry to mention the 'Ch' word in June, but you have to think ahead when it comes to handmade goodies.) That thought led me to think about fabric gift tags, made like mini collages.

This was a quick attempt, to get a feel for what size of gift tag and how I'd make it. I also began making a smaller version of - not the angel - but the green and pink dragonfly design from a few days ago.

I've made the background and added some quilting lines, and have the dragonfly pieces cut out and ready to applique on. That'll keep me occupied tomorrow while listening to 'The Archers' omnibus, making it another Slow Stitch Sunday.

I've also started yet another project, which is silly, I know. Really, I should finish one thing before embarking on something else, but I like flitting between tasks. It keeps them interesting. After making that fabric leopard's head brooch a while back, I fancied making a bee brooch. Or it might turn out to look more wasp-like. Not sure yet. I'll let you know how it turns out.

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How to make these decorative birds

I suggested yesterday that I'd run through how to make a fabric bird wall or window hanging (can't think of a snappier title for it than that!) so here goes. I'll start with the first decorative hanging I made. It's something you could make in any colour combination you want, and would look good hanging at a window with translucent beads that'd catch the light I used five birds for this, but you could make it longer if you prefer. (Incidentally, if you're wondering about what's hanging off the bottom on this, it's a metal Christmas decoration, shaped like a lantern. For some reason I thought it looked appropriate to leave it there, looped over the end.) WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO GATHER TOGETHER: Assorted scraps of fabric for the front of the birds - aim for a mix of colours and textures. Silk looks good, as does anything with embroidery or intricate patterns. You might aim for a hippy-ish boho look, or maybe you're more the minimal Scandi

Paper flowers, leaves, feathers ...

I had a few requests after posting this photo on Facebook, people asking if I could explain how I made these paper flowers. Your wish is my command, and here's the info. It's all very simple and you don't need any advanced drawing skills. So grab a stack of gell prints, a pair of scissors and off we go! The type of print that seems to work best is one where there's a fair amount of detail, rather than a block of solid plain colour. Prints where you've maybe channelled your inner Elizabeth St. Hilaire and 'layered layered layered' as she's always urging us to do. POPPIES If we start with simple poppy seed heads and stalks, they're cut freehand from paper that's mainly shades of orange and brown. I glued those on to a sheet of white copier paper, then cut them out, leaving a narrow border around each. Backing the gell print with the white paper adds that contrasting border, but also strengthens the piece, especially the thin stalks. I

Sari scraps, PVA, a couple of books and a necklace

I'm typing this as snow's falling, and has been steadily all day. It's not settling to any great extent, though I bet by tomorrow morning the paths will be slippery with ice. Which always makes me paranoid about falling over and at the very least looking undignified, but at worst breaking a bone or twisting an ankle. Oh well, it's ideal weather to stay inside and craft, isn't it? I finally got around to listing packs of sari scraps on Etsy this morning. I only made up six bundles as I've no clue whether they'll sell or if I've set a reasonable enough price point. Time will tell. This is a link to the listing, if you're interested. This vaguely pink fabric isn't from one of my Etsy packs. It's from a bit of experimenting I was doing yesterday. I'd seen a post on Instagram showing how a DIY version of batik could be done without using hot wax. The Instagrammer used PVA instead, and I wanted to try this out. The glue's su

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